Apple patent application reveals new display housing, mythical tablet nowhere to be found

We've seen plenty of patent applications from Apple describing a tablet and its interface over the years, and this morning another has been making the rounds, purported by many to give a glimpse at that device's internals. Sadly, after reading through the details, this "Display Housing for Computing Device" sounds like a plain 'ol laptop case to us. It describes "a portable computer including a base and a lid, the lid being coupled to the base via a hinge, and wherein the housing corresponds to the housing of the lid or the housing of the base." There are repeated mentions of a hinge and of the processor being separate from the display housing; one of the figures (included below) even shows a rather standard-looking -- if button-deprived -- laptop. So, sadly, we're thinking this isn't the super-slim keyboard-less Apple tablet/MID you've all been waiting for, more likely just a stiffer lid for a next-generation MacBook. One interesting note: the text spends quite a bit of time discussing means for a glowing logo on the back. Is this the beginning of another patent battle, this time with HP over its similarly illuminated dv5? We sure hope not.

Update: Actually, on a second read through the claims, we'd say this has even less to do with a supposed tablet -- our guess is that this is a patent application for the unibody MacBooks.